Lifestyle changes of a family caring for a 25-year-old quadriplegic man after delayed spinal cord infarction

2Department of General Surgery, Ziv Hospital affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel

Correspondence to Baila Litwak, bailasl{at}gmail.com

Accepted 22 May 2015

Published 8 June 2015

Summary

Worldwide, 110–190 million people over the age of 15 years are estimated to live with severe disability—a physical state of
being defined by the WHO as “the equivalent of disability inferred for conditions such as quadriplegia, severe depression,
or blindness.” Modes and qualities of disability care undoubtedly vary globally, dependent on income, health infrastructure
and culture. Quadriplegia has a unique set of emotional and physical challenges that demand a great deal from care regimens
and health systems. This case study examines a specific—and successful—configuration of quadriplegic care in a Druze village
in the Golan and looks to the economic, geographic and sociocultural aspects of care.